Over the years, considerable research has been conducted into our sense of smell. These studies argue that the sense of smell is the most powerful sense due to its link with our state of mind. As humans, we prefer to use our sense of smell and hearing over smell. We “see” the world largely through eyes and ears, often suppressing our awareness of what our nose has to tell us. Many of us have been taught that there is something shameful about odors.

In order to understand the foundation for this argument, it is necessary to consider the results of a number of different studies done on olfactory function as it relates to our mental state. This paper will include studies done on the sense of smell and its link to depression, schizophrenia, and memory. By evaluating these studies and their results, it will be possible to recognize the premise of this argument.

Before exploring these studies, one must first know how the olfactory system works. How we smell is a very complex process involving a part of our nose and various parts of our brain. We have the ability to recognize up to 10,000 separate odors but each thing we smell must be

oils) in treating a large variety of physical, emotional and psychological conditions Angelfire “About” 1). Some of these essential oils are regarded as anti-depressants. These “anti-depressants” are the product of summer flowers such as: rose, jasmine, lavender and geranium (Aromajoan 2). At a deep unconscious level, they evoke memories within us of warm sunny days, balmy summer evenings in the garden, perhaps even holidays and for most people they are happy associations (Aromajoan 2). This association for aromas and situations can be put to good use in aromatherapy. Massage, a component that is done while presented with aromas, almost always brings about muscular relaxation. If a pleasing blend of oils is introduced in the future, whether in the bath, in a room or during another massage, it will evoke feelings of relaxation (Aromajoan 2). In aromatherapy, a great deal of importance is attached to the relationship between mind and body, particularly in the areas of psychosomatic and stress-related illness. This is the reason why aromatherapy has proved beneficial for people suffering from stress or mental illness (Aromajoan 2).

was that it is the only disability where people will openly laugh in your face when

Dr. Pause and team discovered that the depressed patients were less responsive to the smells and visual stimuli than the healthy subjects. Compared to the control group, they only began to perceive smells at higher concentrations. However, their ability to identify smells was not impaired. This finding is in line with previous studies suggesting that while depressed individuals have no problem identifying odors, depression seems to muffle their sense of smell (Melville 1). Dr. Pause stated, “I would not like to say the reduced olfactory sensitivity is the reason for the depression or the other way around, but they do seem to be associated. A clue could be that the area of the brain responsible for smell and for emotions are parallel in the brain, they are almost identical areas” (Cleaver 2).

Being civilized and human means, for one thing, that our lives are not ruled by smells. But smells retain an uncanny power to move us. With the results of the studies aforementioned proving that there is indeed a relationship between the sense of smell and state of mind, it is safe to believe that the sense of smell is the unsung hero of the five senses. We certainly underestimate the importance of smell to our well-being. Smell can influence mood, memory, emotions, mate choice, the immune system and the endocrine system (hormones). We can communicate by

A great French novelist, Marcel Proust lent his name to one such phenomenon of memory recall called the “Proustian Memory” (Kruszelnicki). By this he meant that whole memories, complete with all associated emotions, can be prompted by smell. Smell is better at this cue effect than other senses. How does a Proustian memory work? It happens because a lot of closely-related events happens in the right half of the brain. When you’re making a memory, you mainly store it in the left dorsal prefrontal cortex. But when you try to retrieve that memory, that happens in the right prefrontal cortex (Kruszelnicki 2). When you try to figure out what on odor or scent is, you do that processing in the right half of the brain. And when you try to recall an emotional event that occurred to you, that also mainly takes place in a part of the right

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